Working as the Chairman of the Board at KY Foundation

The purpose of the KY Foundation is to support all sorts of aspirations of the business students of Aalto – we are here to support the KY community and its students in pretty much anything you come up with doing. But what does the foundation actually do and who is behind its work?

The board of the KY Foundation is the highest decision-maker of the foundation, which translates into important discussions that have a direct effect on the whole business student population. Will the exchange grant be given out in the future? What is an appropriate amount of money to be used to support KY’s clubs and projects? How much money can we even use this year? Should the KY Building be sold, or should we perhaps try to convert it into students apartments? And maybe most importantly: will the future generation of business students have a place to call home in Otaniemi?

Yet, the decision-making is not supposed to be overwhelming – rather a great learning opportunity to make well-justified and fact-based decisions. The specialist members of the board provide expertise, experience and the know-how on managing the 35-million-euro investment portfolio and real estate; the student members’ role is to call for active discussion, question and learn, and bring forward the perspective of a student and KY member. After all, the most important task of the KY Foundation is to enable and sustain the student culture of KY – and no one can do a better job at this than actual KY members!

The board is led by a student chairman, who is chosen for a one-year term and expected to devote around 20 hours per week for foundation related matters. In practise the hourly work amount varies heavily throughout the year. The Chairman does not act alone, but has huge support from the full-time Managing Director, who is responsible for the daily operations and is a bit of a superhero when it comes to matters concerning the foundation.

As the Chairman of the Board, your future responsibilities would include:

Planning out the execution and scheduling of next year’s operation and projects

Facilitating discussions in and outside of board meetings, within the board and with other interest groups

Representing the KY Foundation in events

Acting as a combined colleague and employer’s representative to the Managing Director

Leading projects, the board and its working committee

Updating our long-term strategy and operational conventions

The role also varies from year to year, and some of this year’s specialities have been:

Discussing our investments and the future outlook of the market with top-notch investment banks

Inviting tenders for our investment portfolio’s re-allocation

Designing real estate development and influencing the city planning scheme of Helsinki

Planning the strategic work distribution of the foundation

Surveying KY members’ opinions on the service portfolio of KY and KY Foundation

I can honestly say that the year has been a great learning experience, providing skills and connections I will most definitely utilize in my future career! Will it be you next year? Send me a message at emma.mieskonen@kyweb.fi or contact any other current member of the board (found here) and we will be happy to convince you to apply!

Emma Mieskonen

Chairman of the Board of the KY Foundation

This year the KY Foundation is looking for two student members for the term 2018-2019 as well as a chairperson to lead the work of the board in 2018. Apply now, instructions here.